CHAPTER 162. Life and Eggs
It was then—when I was writhing in guilt at the thought that I might have drifted outside the category of good.
Henji smiled and spoke.
“Still, there is one thing you got right. Well, strictly speaking, even that isn’t exactly right… but first, let me explain how it started.”
Henji addressed, point by point, what I had misunderstood.
Listening calmly, I realized just how absurd my misunderstanding had been.
“The Head of House of Jiloks is someone with deep affection for Brando. Him plotting a rebellion? That’s nonsense. If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have chosen Jiloks in the first place.”
“Then why did he choose Jiloks?”
“To create confusion.”
“Confusion?”
“He was worried Brando’s power would be divided. At the time, he had a considerable force of his own, too.”
In other words, choosing Jiloks was, in his own way, a method of protecting Brando.
Then why was he doing something like this now?
“The trigger was the Hall of Trials incident.”
“The Hall of Trials?”
“Yes. The conclusion was handed down as House Bimarga acting alone, but how many people would believe that? House Deculan’s games with justification aren’t a one- or two-day thing.”
Henji wet his lips with tea as if it were amusing, then continued.
“At the time, the House was fairly noisy. People saying House Deculan must be punished, and so on. The hardliners insisted we should even accept a military clash. That’s where the positions of Head of House Jiloks and Lord Gamo diverged.”
“How?”
“Lord Gamo supported the hardliners, while the Head of House of Jiloks took the stance that a military response was unacceptable.”
“Wait.”
As I listened, a question formed.
“Gamo was a hardliner?”
“Ah, there are circumstances there too… Hmm. I suppose I’ll need to explain the situation a bit more in detail.”
At that time, the inside of Brando was a cauldron of chaos.
Now, it had ended with the factions splitting into hardliners and moderates, and ultimately the moderates winning so it didn’t escalate into war, but…
‘They split into factions so badly that even the lower ranks didn’t hesitate to get into fistfights?’
In a situation where emotional rifts deepened—
“Lord Gamo must have been conflicted. He knew supporting the moderates was right, but… the hardliners’ emotions were boiling over. Suppressing that… you know, don’t you? What happens when you suppress emotions.”
“They explode.”
“Yes. So Lord Gamo preempted it and released those emotions first. No—he went even further than the hardliners and advocated an even more radical response.”
“Mm.”
I could see the shape of it.
You know how it goes.
Two dogs barking like they want to kill each other—if you loosen the leash and say, ‘All right, fight!’ they suddenly get awkward and stare off at distant mountains like nothing happened.
What did the hardliners think of Gamo’s response?
“That must’ve been chilling.”
“Haha, yes. It must’ve been chilling. The moderates were foaming at the mouth, but the hardliners shrank back at Lord Gamo’s response, which was more extreme than they expected.”
“Of course. War isn’t something you take lightly.”
Gamo dragged the word “war,” which had only floated abstractly in their heads, down into reality.
And war, once it became real—
‘It’s horrific.’
You could tell just by looking at the Headmaster senior and Riheim senior.
On the outside they looked fine, but inside they were a mess—tangled, knotted, and coated in madness.
That’s what war is.
A savage beast that leaves scars even on the iron-like mind of a mage who’s reached an exalted realm…
“Well, one way or another, with Lord Gamo acting that way, the Head of House and the elders who had experienced the old war stepped in and settled things down. But… I suppose that situation itself was quite a shock to the Head of House of Jiloks.”
“Why?”
“Because it really felt like war was about to happen. Everyone opposed it, but until the Head of House and elders stepped in, there was no one who could stop Lord Gamo. Haha.”
“…….”
For a moment, I imagined what the Head of House of Jiloks must have felt back then.
The Head of House of vassal House Jiloks.
From the outside, it might look like a glamorous title, but for someone who once coveted Brando’s seat, it couldn’t have been an easy decision.
On the contrary, staying within the main house and receiving a position would’ve been more equitable.
But he left the House to avoid confusion.
And then—
‘The House he protected even at that cost… is going down the wrong path? And he can only watch it happen?’
It must have been dreadful.
Like his own flesh being torn away—his heart must have been carved up.
Of course, would he not have understood Gamo’s intentions? He probably guessed. He’d be a seasoned politician himself.
But—
‘Knowing it with your head doesn’t mean you won’t feel anxious.’
And if what was at stake was the very House he’d tried to protect by leaving…
Even more so.
“He probably thought, ‘Ah, if Brando is going down the wrong path… shouldn’t someone put on the brakes?’”
“So….”
“So he used you as the pretext. In truth, any pretext would have done. And what I said you got right earlier is that part.”
“That he’s trying to reduce Gamo’s influence?”
“Haha, yes. But it’s a bit different. He doesn’t want Gamo’s power to be scattered. He simply… wants to have the position to apply the brakes.”
“Hmm.”
Henji continued explaining the Head of House of Jiloks’s intentions in detail, and if I had to put it simply, it was this:
The stance he wanted was—
‘Not Gamo’s adversary, but the spokesman for Brando’s retainers.’
Stepping forward to become the shield for my issue was the cornerstone for solidifying that stance.
In other words, he wanted to become the center of voices that currently had no focal point.
Hearing it to that point, things mostly fell into place.
“Then the scum from House Tulk must have been a move sent to blow things up even further. From what I heard, my issue had already cooled down to a stale crumb.”
“Right. And since that scum is head over heels for the daughter of Jiloks, it wouldn’t have been difficult to fan his flames.”
“All right. I get it up to here.”
But the most important issue remained.
Brando’s internal affairs were, frankly, just a side dish—fun to know, but not something that mattered much.
So what mattered?
“So how are you going to help me? The Head of House of Jiloks has already made up his mind… he won’t let go of a pretext like me.”
“Does the method matter?”
“That’s….”
I paused, organizing my thoughts as I looked at Henji’s meaningful smile.
‘Does the method matter?’
Not really.
Whatever happened inside Brando, unless it became something truly serious, it wasn’t my business.
I just wanted the trash that kept bothering me to fall away as quickly as possible.
As that thought settled, Henji smoothly shifted the topic.
“Rather than that, let’s talk about something more constructive.”
“Something constructive….”
“You didn’t think I’d help you with this for free, did you? Actually, I have one thing to ask of you.”
“A request?”
Henji nodded.
“It’s not difficult. To be honest… from your standpoint, even if this matter isn’t resolved, it’s not really a problem for you, is it?”
“That’s true.”
I wasn’t clinging to Brando.
“My request is about the same level.”
“For now… let’s hear it.”
I avoided giving a firm yes.
The standards of a madman don’t run on the same track as a normal person’s. If you get swept up by something that sounds trivial, it becomes hard to live out your natural lifespan.
But for some reason—
This time, Henji’s request was, surprisingly, truly not a big deal.
Though… to me, it was a little puzzling.
What was the request?
“Could you get my younger brother into the Magic Tower?”
In other words—he was asking me to have his younger brother join the Magic Tower.
Why…?
In the end, my meeting with Henji ended while leaving behind a confusing question mark.
Guided back to my room by Dinner No. 1 after dinner, I lay on the bed in the dark room and organized my thoughts.
‘Honestly, letting Stan—no, Rober-whatever-his-name-is into the Magic Tower isn’t a big issue.’
The question was what Henji’s intention was.
People often say, “He only looks the part,” but the Magic Tower was a fictitious group that didn’t even have “the part” to look like.
On the surface, it was Lortel’s top-tier ally with a platinum badge—but in truth, it was a group with nothing at all.
Henji had to know that.
Then—
A strong premonition flashed through me, and I reflexively snapped my waist and sat up.
“Is he planning something by using his brother?”
Yes. That could—
- You devious little thing. Do you really think everyone is like you?
What is this?
I scowled at the voice echoing in my head.
A chill ran up my spine and I looked around, but Shine wasn’t here. Which meant this was my own inner outcry.
“Tch. Yeah, that’s going too far.”
Of course, if it were Henji, the possibility of him using even his own brother was high, but… somehow, it didn’t feel like that was the case.
For some reason, that snake-like guy seemed to cherish his younger brother intensely.
‘Well. Anyway, I’ll think about that later.’
What mattered right now was tomorrow.
- As for my brother’s entry into the Tower, you can take your time and tell me later. I’ll first resolve the trash from House Tulk and House Jiloks for you.
He’d said House Tulk would be easy to deal with, but… the problem was House Jiloks.
He said it might take some time, so I should avoid making trouble and stay appropriately quiet.
And he wasn’t wrong—if the resentment from the retainers grew even more, then the Head of House of Jiloks wouldn’t be able to stop even if he wanted to.
Honestly, I wasn’t too worried.
I might not be Endurance, but when it came to patience, I didn’t lose to anyone.
A man who can endure even when he sees injustice. That’s me.
But the problem was—
“Tch. Tomorrow is Demian’s birthday banquet, right?”
Yes. This was it.
For some reason, the things Ransi had said flashed through my mind.
- We trip you.
- We make you present.
And countless other noble misdeeds.
To be honest, I was scared.
“Can I endure all that harsh persecution and humiliation?”
No matter how I looked at it, there was no way around it.
I was a vagrant from the Black and White Zone. Among those nobles, there was no one who would protect me.
Don’t come, don’t come—I could say it as much as I wanted, but they’d come anyway.
“My chest… burns.”
Worrying about tomorrow’s disgrace, I closed my eyes.
A lonely night. A vagrant from the Black and White Zone, holding a burning heart, weeping alone in sorrow.
Then, suddenly, a question came to me.
What is life?
‘Life is….’
Eggs.
‘I want a boiled egg.’
Maybe life and eggs are only a single sheet of paper apart. Because whether it’s life or eggs, once you boil it, it’s hard all the same.
Meanwhile, at the time Aster fell asleep.
Henji handed a letter to Dinner No. 1’s beak and sent it out the window.
“Leave it by the trash’s bedside.”
Ppiiiik—
Dinner No. 1 cut across the dark night sky with a single cry.
Henji took out a cigarette and put it to his lips around the time the figure fully disappeared from view.
Fwoo.
‘The trash of House Tulk will be dealt with by this.’
To call it “dealt with” was almost too grand.
That trash had done so many things.
House Tulk’s power had covered it up one way or another, but if even one of those things leaked out, his life in high society would be as good as over.
The problem was House Jiloks.
‘That’s something to resolve in time.’
Henji settled that thought and exhaled smoke.
White smoke that fluttered and spread with a deep sigh. Henji’s eyes followed it, then turned toward the window.
The direction of his gaze was the young head’s residence where Aster was staying.
Henji thought.
“……It’s quiet.”
With not even a hint of wind, it felt like the stillness of night just before a storm broke.
And perhaps, it wasn’t all that different.
‘A fierce storm may sweep across the continent.’
The peace of now was only the calm before the storm.
Of course, no one knew when that time would come.
In a year, in ten years—or, contrary to worry, perhaps peace would remain, with no storm ever coming.
‘But if a storm does come, it would be best to stand at its center.’
Henji exhaled smoke and gently closed his eyes.
My foolish younger brother—if you want to resent me, then resent me as much as you like. But even if your body suffers to death, the Tower Lord will never abandon you.
Even if the whole world turns its back on you, and even if even I abandon you.
That was why Henji was trying to have his foolish younger brother enter the Tower.
And there was one more reason.
‘……If he sticks close to the Tower Lord, then at least he won’t get beaten to death somewhere.’
Henji held the drifting smoke in his eyes.
